Fair Market Price is an estimate of a “fair” price that any given new vehicle can be purchased for. This national estimate, updated monthly, reflects recent market conditions (supply and demand) plus a reasonable dealer markup.

The 2015 Mercedes-Benz GL-Class is for the well-heeled family that needs the practicality of a three-row fullsize SUV but can’t bring themselves to buy the usual Tahoe, Yukon, or Escalade. Starting at a not-insubstantial $64,525, the GL is available with a frugal turbodiesel V-6, a new-for-2015 3.0L turbo V-6 for the GL450, and a choice of a thundering or ridiculous twin-turbo V-8 in the GL550 or GL63 AMG, respectively. Be forewarned of price tag inflation once you start moving up the model ladder and checking the option boxes. Top-level models can easily crest the $100,000 mark. Although the GL550 is available with low-range four-wheel drive, the Range Rover, Lexus LX 570, and Toyota Land Cruiser are better choices if you plan on regularly visiting off-road trails.

What Will I Miss Most About Our GL? Ride? Handling? Torque? Nope. Massage Seats

My year with our long-term, 2013 SUV Of The Year-winning Mercedes GL350 Bluetec is up. I’ve actually had it a couple of months past the year, but sometimes it’s hard to let go. We consider our Of The Year testing to be exhaustive in detail, but actually living with a vehicle for a year reveals strengths and weaknesses we couldn’t otherwise find. It’s hard to simulate every situation during testing because it turns out randomness is hard to plan.

One soft spot that doesn’t pop up during SUOTY testing is maintenance costs. In normal maintenance I rang up a grand total of $1467 in 35,000 miles. In the same time, $837 went for normal consumables consisting of front and rear brake pads. Those of you who have been following along know the tires were replaced, but that was an experiment and the stock tires still had plenty of life left in them. With that said, our long-term 2011 Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid covered a mere 26,909 miles and its ownership cost the magazine $1096.21 in maintenance and $2532.05 in consumables, and it actually required a set of tires. A much cheaper alternative was our 2011 Infiniti QX56, which covered 30,045 miles and cost $686 in maintenance with no consumables.

The only other downside of the giant family-hauler was that the DVD system isn’t particularly easy to use. The interface is less than intuitive and it wasn’t even used once a month, so every time it was fired up was like the first time. One of the biggest problems with the system -- and every in-car system I can remember -- is that while the vehicle is in motion, you can only see the movie on the rear screens. That’s a great idea, as you shouldn’t be watching “Toy Story” while driving. The problem is, my 2-year-old can’t navigate the DVD menus to get the movie started, and the driver can’t do it from the front, so the passenger has to twist around to try and see the screens, or if there’s no passenger I have to stop and pull over to do it from the front.

On the upside, the GL was one of the best road-trippers we’ve ever had in the fleet. The active suspension, good steering, great seats, and spacious cabin made the miles melt away effortlessly. It’s also worth noting the diesel returned an average of 21.1 mpg over test period, but seeing 26 on road trips was the norm. On the rare occasion that the son and wife were asleep, the road empty and stars aligned, the GL could run for 600 miles on a single tank. It’s the little things that make you happy sometimes.

Our Real MPG testing compared pretty well with actual observed mileage. The EPA rates the GL at 19 mpg city, which is what our RMPG shows, but while the EPA gives a highway rating of 26 mpg, our instrumented number is 27 mpg. Highway speed definitely plays a big role in economy, so I tried to keep the adaptive cruise control set at a reasonable level.

Our GL as configured cost $88,615, which is still a steal given the amount of equipment and the overall quality of the SUV. Looking at 3-year residuals, the GL would retain 54 percent of its original price with a projected value of $47,852. That compares pretty favorably to the Infiniti QX56, which retained 52 percent of its purchase price. Let’s not talk about the Cayenne -- it retained only 40 percent.

The GL functions fantastically as a single-person commuter. Visibility is great in normal driving. The 360-degree camera system makes it easy to maneuver and park even if it is outside the normal size of typical Southern California parking spaces. There is however a slight, aching feeling driving a huge seven passenger SUV by yourself. Heck, I felt a little guilty piloting this thing with just my wife, 30-pound child, and myself. There were a couple of occasions we filled it up pretty well, but it was never stuffed from floor to ceiling. During the entire year I had the GL, I think we may have justified the size of the GL twice, and that was only because there were seven adults in it. If we had another couple of kids, then it might make sense, but when I see other families of three or four driving something of this size, I don’t get it. The GL is still our current benchmark for big SUVs in this price range. It will be missed, and right now there is nothing on the market I can see replacing it.

A violent tornado hit Tuscaloosa County in Alabama Wednesday, with the Mercedes-Benz Vance plant in its path of destruction. The plant manufactures the 2nd generation M-Class and GL-Class SUVs, and R-Class minivan.

Fresh off a win in our 2007 SUOTY competition, the all-new 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL450 is the newest addition to our long-term test fleet. Already a major player in every other vehicle segment, it was only a question of time before M-B decided to get into the full-size luxury sport/utility market.

Fresh off a win in our 2007 SUOTY competition, the all-new 2007 Mercedes-Benz GL450 is the newest addition to our long-term test fleet. Already a major player in every other vehicle segment, it was only a question of time before M-B decided to get into the full-size luxury sport/utility market.